It Starts With A Spark
by tartarusteaparty
Summary: A fiery princess and a hopeless repair boy get thrown together by Hestia in hopes to protect her from Zeus. Their relationship blooms from misunderstanding into the fondness of finding a kindred spirit and a possible love interest. Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue

Alrighty so here is a fic based on Leo/Flame Princess art by viria on tumblr.

This a prologue of sorts and it's just shy of 2,000 words!

Feel free to leave a review and I hope you enjoy the fic.

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This year would be the second time the newest half-bloods return to camp. It was strange to say the least seeing a sea of purple among the usual friendly orange. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter made a truce of sorts after both camps discovered each other's existence. Campers were allowed to travel freely between both camps to experience both Roman and Greek traditions. Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Hazel, Leo, and Frank all decided to stay at Camp Half-Blood this summer. The seven had been through a lot together but this time around they didn't want their time spent together to consist of kicking monster butt no matter how cool that may sound the first time around.

The first to arrive at camp were Percy and Annabeth. The two walked hand in hand until they came to the fire pit. Sitting on a log by the blazing fire was a young girl who looked to be around the age of seven. She had mousy brown hair and eyes that flickered like flames, Hestia. "Why don't you go put your stuff down. I'll catch up with you in a bit." Percy gave Annabeth a reassuring nod which she replied to with a muffled, "Sure" before heading towards the Athena Cabin. Percy took a seat beside the goddess before striking up a conversation. "It's been a while since I've seen you around here, my lady." The small girl smiled knowingly before replying. "Well, it has been a while since you have returned to camp so that is a reasonable conclusion to come to, Percy Jackson." Percy chuckled at the comment. "I guess you're right about that. The gods never really cut me a break." Hestia nodded. "That is right, Percy. I'm afraid I might have to trouble you again this summer though I hope this task won't be as daunting as ones you have previously faced". Percy's face darkened as the goddess's words reached his ears."What is it?" Hestia shook her head. "Don't make such a face, young hero. You have faced many tribulations and I am sure this is something you will be able to handle." She looked over at the demi-good before continuing. He still looked tentative to comply but he hadn't protested yet.

"Do you know the story of how mortals received fire?" Percy shook his head. "Very well. You met who was responsible last year, Prometheus. Before mortals had fire they were helpless beings seeing that Prometheus took it upon himself to grant them a gateway to a better life. He requested council with the gods but Zeus refused the suggestion for he was afraid of the power the mortals would gain if given fire. Even after his idea was rejected Prometheus was intent on giving fire to the mortals. He snuck back to Olympus when the gods were away and touched a stalk to Zeus's master bolt thus setting it aflame. He returned to the mortal world with fire and gifted it to man. He was then—" Percy cut in. "Chained to Olympus and a vulture would make his liver his lunch every day until Hercules came around, right?" Hestia nodded. "So what does any of this have to do with me?" Percy asked. "To be quite honest this task doesn't necessarily have to involve just you." The goddess replied. Almost as if on cue Annabeth returned along their other five friends who had just arrived. They all filed in silently as Annabeth filled with them in on who Percy was talking to.

Hestia then addressed all seven of the demi-gods picking up where she had left off in her conversation with Percy. "I have come to ask you to protect something, no, someone who is in danger but who is also very important." At that moment the fire died until only a small burst of flame remained. Hestia slid off the log she was sitting on and picked up the flame with her bare hands. "This is no normal fire. This is the first fire given to mortals. I have kept her in this form for a while now but she is becoming much too hard to contain. For the first time since her creation she will be taking on a human form. While she exists this way I will no longer be able to keep her safe. Zeus is still bitter about what Prometheus did for mortals and if he finds that she still exists he will not hesitate to destroy her." The whole group remained silent as Hestia spoke. "Much like a nymph she has to be a tied to a physical element she embodies, a fire. Fortunately fires are able to move so her location is not restricted making her easier to keep out of harm's way. As of right now her life source is tied to the fire I have made if this fire goes out she will not die immediately but you will have a limited amount of time to set her ablaze and use her flames to build another fire. One—." The goddess locked eyes with Leo for a moment before continuing on. "Or many of you will guard her fire and keep her safe. While she is capable of handling herself she unable to control her own power and will be emotional unstable once I give her a proper body."

The seven immediately turned to each other and began to argue and discuss the situation at hand all the while the goddess knelt down and placed the small fire on the ground. She blew on the flames until they began to grow and roughly take human form. "Alright alright guys stop! We don't have to decide right away who takes care of her." Percy managed to grab the group's attention for a moment before Jason chimed in. "I know man but Vesta, I mean, Hestia sounded pretty serious." Of course Leo added the comic relief to the conversation. "I don't know guys she seems like my kind of girl. You know hot and angry. I think that's my specialty and I don't think any of you can argue with that." Just to add to his joking tone he raised his eyebrows suggestively for good measure. In response he got a series of eye rolling all except for one pair which then met another. Percy and Annabeth were both studying each other having a wordless conversation of sorts before Percy spoke up. "That actually isn't a bad idea." Leo looked completely stunned. "Wait. What?" Percy nodded his head as he got more used to the idea. "I mean out of all of us you kinda have the advantage when it comes to all things fire." The other demi-gods nodded along. "Looks like you're getting what you wished for. Look a little excited gods, repair boy." Piper playfully slapped Leo on the back but the son of Hephaestus was still in shock. Percy turned to face Hestia once more and nodded at the goddess. "She is the princess of the flame and you may call her what you wish for she has no proper name. Treat her well." The goddess's flashing eyes wandered over to the shocked boy. "I am counting on you, Leo Valdez, and soon so will she." Hestia returned to the fire pit and once the flames completly engulfed her she disappeared leaving the seven demi-gods alone with the nymph-like girl.

"Since that's settled" Jason stood up from the log he was sitting on and nonchalantly strode over to his friend. "Good luck dude she's definitely gonna be more than a handful but I'm sure you can handle it." The blond boy smiled before waving at the rest of group and leaving. The others followed after him giving Leo words of encouragement but they fell upon deaf ears. Soon enough he was left alone with the blazing girl. He was allowed a few more moments of silence until the flames died around the girl allowing him to see her clearly for the first time. Her skin was tinted orange and her eyes glowed bright red like rubies. She looked to be around 15 or so and surprisingly her hair was still set on fire. Leo figured it was always meant to be that way since it didn't seem to be dying down anytime soon. It took everything within him to pull himself up and approach the girl. She on the other hand paid him no mind as she seemed much more interested with inspecting her new body. The flaming girl stared at her hands with an odd curiosity until finally out of the corner of her eye she spotted the boy coming towards her. Immediately she went into defense mode and threw a sizable fireball in Leo's direction. Just in time Leo ducked but not fast enough to prevent the tips of hair from getting singed off. Obviously he couldn't burn but it wasn't like getting nailed in the face with fire was the most pleasant thing to deal with. "Whoa wait hold on! I'm not trying to hurt you so could you could down for a sec!" Leo put his hands up to show he meant no harm but the girl still didn't look convinced even though she stopped trying to kill him. "Who are you and what has happened to me?" Leo could tell her voice was usually sweet but at the moment her words sounded as if they could burn right through him. "I'm Leo and I'm er um kinda sorta your…protector? I guess? I can't really answer what happened to you bu—" As soon as he saw the look of utter rage on her face he lost the ability to speak. "I. DON'T. NEED. PROTECTING!" Another fireball came sailing at him but this time he caught the flaming projectile. For once he felt confident in himself around an angry girl. He could definitely fight fire with fire. "You wanna bet?" The look on the girl's face was priceless. She was in for a lot more than she had bargained for and maybe just maybe she was regretting starting this fight.


	2. An Understanding

This chapter is also just under 2,000 words and finally some solid interaction between FP and Leo is established here.

Again feel free to leave a review and enjoy~

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Getting the flame princess to calm down certainly took some work but eventually she came around…sorta. With a lot of explaining and nearly getting all his hair burned off several times Leo managed to get the girl to stop threatening his life every two seconds.

"So you're the only one?" The flaming female questioned. "Kinda. It's been a while since a son of Hephaestus was able to control fire and stuff. So are you impressed yet, princess?" Leo had finally settled on a nickname for the girl. Since Hestia introduced her as 'the princess of the flame' along with her attitude it just seemed like the right thing to call her. Apparently she didn't agree. Her nose crinkled up with distaste but surprisingly she didn't comment on it. "I guess it's better that way. There's a chance that if there were more demi-gods like you they'd be just as annoying and no, I'm not impressed." The two were making their way through the camp. Leo offered to give FP a tour and she actually agreed. Well maybe agreed was a bit of a stretch but she didn't have any other option but to follow him around so she did just that.

The sun was already setting over the horizon. Peleus seemed to be winding down and snoring right by the Golden Fleece while campers ogled at the odd pair as they walked by. Leo had found out quite a bit about the princess. For one she wasn't as clueless as you'd think someone would be after spending most of their life as a flame. She was able to travel from fire to fire as long as Hestia permitted her to. Over the years she has spent more than one evening in the sacrificial fire in the camp dining hall so she didn't need much of an introduction to Camp Half-Blood. On the other hand the campers really did need a proper introduction to her. Fire nymphs, at least that's what they were saying she was, weren't a usual sight at camp. Everyone who caught sight of the princess shied away, especially the tree nymphs. They were pretty freaked when they found out almost everything she touched burst into flames. Leo hadn't noticed but the princess looked heartbroken for a split second as the nymphs scurried back to their trees. Luckily he continued to talk about anything that came to mind which distracted her from people's reactions to her presence. He was insecure and she was miserable but somehow they both were better off together.

"Chiron knows you're here. He's goung tell everyone about you tomorrow minus the Prometheus and Hestia bit." The girl nodded silently. She had already given up on trying to insult Leo every time he opened his mouth. At first he was hurt by her words but she was so quick to be harsh towards him that he easily got used to her brash nature and pressed on. She had picked up on this and soon stopped her onslaught of fowl words.

"So it's getting late. Curfew is in about hour and I have no idea where a flaming princess sleeps." The princess rolled her eyes before replying. "In my fire obviously. If you haven't noticed already I can't really sleep in a normal bed without burning it to a crisp." Leo nodded honestly as if it was the first time he was accepting the fact of the matter. "Alright princess you're not the only one with spontaneous combustion problems so I get it. I don't like it but I get it." The princess raised an eyebrow at him not sure of why her sleeping arrangements were so unfavorable. "The thing is I'm your 'protector'." He used air quotes to try to avoid offending her again. "So I have to be near you around the clock no matter what. Basically wherever you sleep I sleep." She didn't look happy about it but the flame princess nodded halfheartedly. "Okay so you wait here for a second and I'll be back in a bit." The girl was about to protest but before she could he was already heading off towards his a cabin. A few minutes later he returned with a pillow and a sleeping bag, "I hope you like slumber parties." An impish grin took form on his lips before he beckoned her towards him so she'd follow him back to the fire pit.

Leo set himself up by the fire laying out his sleeping bag on flat ground before plopping down on top of it. The princess stood in front of her life source looking a bit hesitant about turning back into her original form for the night. After scoping out the surrounding area Leo snuggled into his sleeping bag. "Goodnight" He muttered tiredly. "Night…" The princess responded just above a whisper. With one last deep breath Flame Princess walked into the flames and turned back into the small burst of fire she once was.

For once Leo had a dreamless sleep which was odd for most demi-gods. It was strange at first he thought he was dreaming as the air around him grew boiling hot but as his eyes fluttered open he realized the heat wasnot part of a dream at all. Around him flames were engulfing the surrounding area. The Hermes cabin had caught fire and campers were rushing out of the burning building. Naiads had left their place in the river to help put out the fires. Other demi-gods spilled out into the clearing trying to help keep the fire at bay. In the middle of this chaos the flame princess stood looking upon the sight with absolute horror. The look on her face told Leo all that he needed to know, somehow she was responsible for this mess even if she didn't mean to be. With Leo and Percy's help the campers were able to stop the fires. Most of the flames were guided back to the fire pit thanks to Leo's abilities. By the end of the night only a few were injured but nobody was in critical condition. Chiron ordered an emergency camp meeting after breakfast before ordering everyone back to bed.

When Leo returned to the fire pit Flame Princess was nowhere in sight. Anyone else would have found his next course of action to be strange but with peculiar ease he stepped right into the raging fire. It took some energy to make himself completely immune to the flames but he wasn't overexerting himself in the slightest. He knelt down and plucked a small flower of fire from the logs below him and began to retreat from the burning sanctuary. As he left the flames the princess began to materialize into her human from. Once they both were out of the fire instead of a flower he was holding her hand. Under any other circumstance he wouldn't have held it for so long but he had questions and he knew she would be reluctant to give answers. He looked her straight in the eyes before he began to speak.

"Explain." For a moment the princess couldn't meet his eyes she even tried to wiggle out of his grip but his hand only tightened around hers when she did. Eventually she looked up at him. She searched warm brown eyes for any emotion but couldn't decide whether or not he was angry with her. "I-I didn't mean to. It's never happened before but now that I have a human form I can dream. When I dream I have nightmares and…" Her voice trailed off. It was clear that she didn't want to continue but as soon as she mentioned nightmares Leo's expression softened and so did his grip. She took his silence as a cue to continue on. "I had a nightmare but I don't remember what it was about all I know is that my emotions got the best of me and when I woke up there wasn't just fire around me, it was everywhere." The princess's voice began to crack and she looked close to tears. Her emotional state definitely got him. Without saying a word he sat down on a log and gently pulled her down with him. Leo had never dealt with crying girls before but considering how terrible he was when it came to dealing with anything girl related he was sure this wouldn't go well either.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. Chiron's going to talk to everyone tomorrow and I'm sure the Hermes kids will get over it eventually." The girl still didn't look convinced. "But, Leo their faces… They were…afraid of me. They'll always see me as that crazy nymph girl who set their camp on fire. I knew it wasn't going to be easy fitting in but now I don't know if I ever will." What she said hit close to home. If anyone knew how it felt like to be the outcast it was him. Nemesis herself told him he was the seventh wheel in his group of friends so hearing something so similar coming from someone else was strangely comforting. "Wow princess I didn't know you were one of those girls who worried so much. Earlier today you were saying how you didn't need protecting. I'm not so sure you were being truthful." He responded to the situation the only way he knew how to, with humor. Unfortunately it looked like the wrong choice. The princess raised her hand but when her fist came into contact with the boy it was soft and playful. Flame princess smiled slightly before a small chuckle arose from her. "Shut up." Her words held no force letting Leo know that he actually had made the right choice this time around.

"Not gonna happen but tell you what. I know you're still a bit freaked about going back to sleep so I'm willing to give up my precious beauty sleep to stay up with you. Come one it's a tempting offer you know you can't resist." At first the princess looked a bit shocked. In almost no time at all Leo got to the root of her problem and offered to help her. She couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. Her expression then shifted from shock to suspicion. "Alright we have a deal, but before we finalize this you have to answer one question." Leo mulled over the princess's proposition and then nodded in agreement. "Fire away, princess." A satisfied smirk took form on his lips as he mentally high-fived himself for the 'clever' pun. "Why are you being so nice to me?" The nymph-like girl's question was so honest it threw Leo off. _Why was he being so nice to her?_ Then the answer came to him so easily he felt stupid having to ask himself why in the first place. "Because believe it or not you and I are alike." Leo's cheeky smile had faded and it was the first the princess could tell he was being completely serious with her. "It's weird but I feel like…I get you? Gods, that sounds dumb." Flame Princess shook her head. "No, I think I know what you mean actually." For once the princess smiled fully and sincerely. If Leo hadn't been aware of his own actions he would have been gaping at the sight because seeing her make such a face was as shockingly out of character as it was shockingly beautiful. He knew then that the princess wasn't the only one who was in for more than she had bargained for.


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